Motorcycle Concept Sketching | 08 |Rendering the Body Part 2

Here’s how the finished painting in this motorcycle sketch tutorial will turn out

Ready to step on the gas in this motorcycle sketch tutorial?

Having rendered the shiny parts of your motorcycle, you can now move on to defining and rendering some of the shapes in other areas.

Work as quickly as you can, but don’t sweat it if you’re not quite up to speed just yet. Being a good digital artist takes plenty of practice, so just keep going, work on your technique and you’ll soon find you get quicker.

If you’re planning to work in a design studio, it’s important that you’re able to work as quickly as possible, so this is definitely something to aim towards.

Here are the main points to remember from this motorcycle sketch tutorial:

Merging Your Layers Down

At this stage, you’ll have lots of different layers featuring all the shapes you drew in the previous lesson. Before moving on, you need to merge these to make it easier to work on the rest of your painting. Simply highlight all the layers and then hit Ctrl + E to flatten them down.

Once you’ve done this, call the merged layer something recognizable.

Working on the Darker Matt Areas

The main focal parts of your painting are the shiny areas and the wheels, so you don’t have to worry about being too precise with the other darker matt areas.

To draw in the shapes for these other areas in this motorcycle sketch tutorial, use the same process as before and select your Lasso Tool to add the forks on the wheel and other elements.

Once you’ve drawn your shape, hold down the Alt key to subtract different areas from it.

Fill in the shapes using your Brush Tool and use the Eyedropper Tool to pick up shades from other parts of your painting.

Keep adding shapes and defining forms, remembering to work quickly and not be too precious about your work.

As you zoom in and out and move around your painting, you might notice some areas you want to change.

Because you’re working digitally, you can do this quickly and easily.

Changing the Shape of the Handlebars

In this example, James decides to change the shape of the handlebars. You can do this by simply painting over the existing lines and changing the shape completely.

To adjust the size of your new handlebars, draw a marquee around and hit Ctrl + T to bring up the Transform menu.

You can also change any other elements in your painting quickly and easily using this method.

Using Reference Photos When Adding Details

When studying this motorcycle sketch tutorial, keep moving around your painting and adding details. Remember, you can always use reference photos from the internet to help you decide where each detail should go.

Although you’re working quickly, make sure each element of your painting looks correct. No amount of rendering can make up for poor technique.

Don’t be afraid to change things. Remember the handlebars from earlier? At this stage, James decides to change them again, so go right ahead and make changes too if there are any parts of your painting you feel could work better.

When adding all these other shapes, try and think about the silhouette of your motorcycle. You might not know why some shapes are there, but they just look good!

Adding Shadows Cast From Different Parts

Because your motorcycle is now looking like a 3D object, you can now start thinking about which parts would cast a shadow on others. Here, you can see how the seat would cast a shadow on the wheel arch and the top of the rear wheel.

To do this, mask off some more shapes and use your Brush Tool to add rich areas of shadow.

In the next motorcycle sketch tutorial, you’ll be adding a few more details before moving on to color your painting.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this lesson. Remember, the more you practice, the faster and better you’ll be, so just keep working at it and everything will fall into place!

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Hi! I'm here to help artists get clear on their next steps. I spent 10 years working as a video game and special effects artist, and now work full time to share my knowledge and connect artists with the advice they need.